The need for unlimited data

When I signed up for AT&T last June to get the iPhone 4, the only options I had for data were 200 MB or 2 GB; unlimited data was discontinued before I signed up. I opted for 2 GB to give me some room, in case I needed it. Up until now, I've used at most 250 MB per month. Since I work at home and mostly use Wi-Fi, I use most data on Wi-Fi. Furthermore, when I'm out, I don't stream video or do anything that is high bandwidth. This month, I went on vacation (first real vacation in 5.5 years) and had no Wi-Fi coverage for the entire 5 day trip. My wife and I used the phone to find stuff to do, as well as for some Twitter checking, RSS feed reading, and email. It looks like I'll use maybe 800 MB of my 2 GB allocation. So even with my high (for me) usage, I didn't even use half of my allocation.

For many people, 2 GB of data is more than enough. If someone commuted on a bus or train and streamed music or video, they might use more data. So for social networking, web browsing and email 2 GB works and unlimited is just a marketing gimmick (at least it is for Sprint now). Of course, everyone's usage varies, but for me, unlimited doesn't mean anything to me. I suspect that when I add my wife to my account, 2 GB will be enough for her, as well.

To iPhone 4S or not to iPhone 4S

When the iPhone 4S was announced, it seemed like a minor upgrade, I immediately wanted to get one. I like shiny toys and needed justification to get one. Luckily my wife has been bugging me about getting an iPhone and she said that she'd be more than happy with an iPhone 4. So, I'll get the shiny new gadget and pass down my iPhone 4 to my wife.

We ordered the iPhone 4S last week and in 3-4 weeks, it will arrive. Then the fun begins. I have to swap the SIM so that I get the iPhone 4S working on my number, port my wife's number over to the new line, and then combine the lines into a FamilyTalk plan. This is almost a recipe for disaster; knowing that this wasn't going to be straight forward, we ordered the phone at an AT&T corporate store (turns out our flight home from vacation was delayed, so we stopped in at the large mall on Maui and went to the only AT&T store on the island). I just hope this doesn't get screwed up; crossing my fingers.

Review: tiltpod "tripod"

Just about every time I've gone on vacation, someone is missing from the pictures we take. Self timers are great, but you have to put the camera some place stable and that typically requires carrying a tripod. Small tripods such as the Joby Gorillapod are great, but I don't always remember to take mine with me. I saw the tiltpod and just had to give it a try. It's an interesting product that always gives a stable base to set a camera. I took it on my recent vacation and was able to take a few pictures using it; it was always attached to the camera, so using it wasn't a problem. Unfortunately most of the pictures I took were out of focus and difficult to set up. As the tiltpod makes the camera sit on a flat surface (or so), it's kind of hard to put my head behind it. I think part of the problem may be that I need to read up on some of the auto focus settings on my camera, so I'll have to play around with them and see if I can get better at taking pictures.

The tiltpod is quite simple in that it is a magnetic base with a numb that screws into the camera. I really like the concept and had high hopes for it. I'm going to keep the base hooked onto the strap and use it every once in awhile; if I can get the auto focus working better, then the tiltpod will be immensely useful. As of now, it is kind of an interesting product, but has limited utility for me.

Pros

• Easy to use.
• Convenient.
• Stable.

Cons

• Hard to put head behind camera when on flat surface.
• Potentially limited utility.

Summary

The tiltpod does everything it purports to do and does it well. While not a flaw in the product itself, putting a digital camera on a flat surface makes it almost impossible to put your head behind it if set on a rock, or something else that you can't crouch behind. I did find it convenient when I set it on a metal chair and was able to easily get behind it.

The tiltpod is not that expensive and if you understand the limitations, I'd recommend getting it. If you expect it to completely replace a tripod, then you'll be very disappointed with this.

The end of MovieConverter

It was just over 2 months ago when I released MovieConverter to the world to fill a gap where iMovie for iPad wouldn't import videos from certain video cameras including my Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-WX9. I had originally came up with the idea for MovieConverter back when I got my iPad 2 and started playing with iMovie. I worked on MovieConverter over the summer and finally released it.

When I installed iOS 5 on my iPad 2, I found that iMovie imported more videos than before, but still not ones from my WX9. I made a few minor updates to MovieConverter to get it working better on iOS 5 and pushed it out the door. I got back from vacation the day after iOS 5 got released to the public and quickly updated everything including iMovie. The iMovie 1.2.2 notes said it added support for importing video from additional cameras.

Much to my delight and dismay, the videos from my WX9 imported into iMovie without MovieConverter. I immediately updated the MovieConverter description to say it may longer be needed and dropped the price to free so that no users would be pissed at me for writing a "useless" program.

From an iMovie user point of view, this is great news. I didn't write MovieConverter for fame or fortune, but it was nice to get a little money from it.

Oh well, now I have to come up with another idea that will have a little more than 2 months on the app store.